Sunday, May 15, 2011

Megan Angelo's "Tossing the Bouquet out of the Genre" isn't the Times review of Bridesmaids. It's a profile about the making of the movie. But it's the most revealing piece I think I've read about Bridesmaids. It describes a not completely minor clash of perspectives between the female screenwriters Wiig and Mumalo and the movie's famous male producer Judd Apatow.

I really liked the movie, but I think I was more put off by the two, inconsistent tones and styles than other viewers. The friend I saw it with said I was confusing real life with the movies when I complained that one scene in particular didn't make sense to me. But for me, movies work best you suspend disbelief or at least when the film pulls you into its fictional universe enough to forget about whether it's realistic.

My point was that some of the over the top parts in Bridesmaids didn't seem either that funny (as opposed to The Hangover) or authentic to me and didn't feel organic, like they fit the characters. So I'm not surprised that some of those moments were elements pushed by Apatow rather than Wiig. I love Apatow's movies by the way. He portrays guys, male aspirations and male friendship really well (as far as I can tell). I don't know if this article is an accurate portrayal of the creative process or just a good narrative to sell on opening weekend. But if it is accurate, I think Apatow would have done better to defer just a little more to the women on this one.

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About Me

I have a PhD in mass communication research with an emphasis in political communication, public opinion and media studies from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. I study media, politics, and public opinion; the social construction of race, class, gender, and sexual identity; and the politics of entertainment.